The Chiefs left Tampa Bay with a 16-15 preseason loss to the Buccaneers on Saturday night, and the headline wasn’t Patrick Mahomes - he still hasn’t appeared in a preseason game this year, even though he apparently wants to. It wasn’t a touchdown, either. The loudest moment belonged to Harrison Butker, whose leg carried the night in a game that featured plenty of flags and not nearly enough fireworks.
Kansas City hasn’t won a preseason game since 2023, and this latest one offered a useful snapshot of where camp battles and roster hopes stand right now.
The rookies continued to show why the Chiefs leaned into speed on defense. First-round cornerback Mansoor Delane jumped a wide receiver screen from the start, forcing David Sills to cut inside for a 1-yard loss.
On the very next snap, second-round edge R Mason Thomas diagnosed another screen and got in the passing lane to knock it down. The Chiefs lost a lot on defense this offseason, especially at cornerback with Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson gone, and the draft class was built to help them get faster - especially at the line of scrimmage.
Delane made his preseason debut after a shoulder injury kept him in a no-contact jersey for the early part of training camp, while Thomas was active throughout the night.
At right tackle, the most important camp battle took a hit. Kahlil Benson, who has been fighting Jaylon Moore for the job, had a rough showing and looked like an undrafted free agent in the worst sense of the phrase.
He was beaten badly twice in pass protection, and one of those losses led to a sack-fumble. He also picked up a false start.
Moore, meanwhile, filled in at left tackle for Josh Simmons, who is dealing with a back injury, and his night wasn’t especially clean either. Both players have bounced around camp and even tried other spots, but the pressure up front made it tough to get a real read on the quarterback work.
There was one encouraging sign for the pass rush, and it came from Felix Anudike-Uzomah. The former first-round pick has had a disappointing three-year stretch and missed all of last season with hamstring injuries, but he has looked healthier in camp and showed it again Saturday.
He got around the edge for a hard hit and sack on Jake Browning, enough to force Browning to come out for a play and catch his breath. Anudike-Uzomah finished with one sack and four quarterback pressures, and the Chiefs have been using him both outside and inside on passing downs as his first-step quickness has returned.
Then there was the biggest individual kick of the night. Butker drilled a 69-yard field goal to end the first half, with room to spare.
It would have set an NFL regular-season record for longest field goal had it counted in the regular season, and it looked like it might have been good from 75. He was perfect in the first half, making kicks from 69, 58 and 45 yards, but the second half wasn’t as clean.
After a penalty pushed an extra-point try back, he missed it. Later, with four minutes left, he pushed a go-ahead field goal wide right.
Butker has been using a different approach in camp after a rough start to 2025, spacing out his practice kicks to better match game conditions.
Jalen Royals also helped himself. The Chiefs’ 2025 fourth-round pick has had a hard time getting going, but Saturday was a step in the right direction.
He caught all six of his targets for 51 yards, working with both Justin Fields and Garrett Nussmeier. Royals showed the trait that made him appealing in the first place: what he can do after the catch.
That was part of the reason Kansas City drafted him after he finished second in the nation in yards after catch per game in his final season at Utah State. He had only two catches last year, and after a rough start to camp, he has looked better lately.
In Other News...
Chiefs Roster Battle Just Got More Complicated After Buccaneers Test
The Chiefs preseason meeting with the Buccaneers added another layer to a roster fight that already had plenty of moving parts. Games like this tend to sharpen the edges of the competition, and Kansas City got a useful look at who helped their case and who left the coaching staff with more to sort through as cut-down decisions draw closer.
Harrison Butker again steadied things, while R Mason Thomas and Felix Anudike-Uzomah gave the front a push with performances that stood out in a game built around evaluation. On the other side, Jaylon Moore, Kahlil Benson and Justin Fields found themselves on the wrong end of the review, which is exactly the kind of uneven showing that can turn a simple preseason snapshot into a much more complicated depth chart puzzle. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Preseason Loss Still Put Two Young Offensive Names On Notice
With Patrick Mahomes, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy and Trey Smith all sidelined while they recover from injuries, the Chiefs have spent their first two preseason games giving younger offensive players a longer look. It has been the kind of August stretch that can make or break roster battles, and two names have started to stand out in a meaningful way.
Emmett Johnson gave the offense a lift with a touchdown in the second preseason game against the Buccaneers, while second-year receiver Jalen Royals led Kansas City in receiving yards. Andy Reid liked what he saw from Royals, and both players are trying to position themselves as useful role pieces for the 2026 season, even if the preseason result itself did not go Kansas City's way. [Read more 🡒]
Cam Little Is Suddenly Part Of A Wild New NFL Debate
A preseason kick from Harrison Butker has nudged an old special-teams debate back into view, even if it came in a game that wont touch the official record book. The Chiefs veteran drilled a 69-yard field goal, the second-longest in NFL preseason history, a reminder of just how far the kicking game has come and how quickly a big leg can turn into a league-wide talking point.
For Kansas City, it only adds another layer to Butkers resume. He has been with the Chiefs since 2017 and ranks fourth all-time in NFL field-goal percentage, which is why any time he sends one that deep, it gets noticed. And with Cam Little holding the official regular-season mark at 68 yards, the conversation now has a new edge, even if the answer still has to wait for a kick that counts. [Read more 🡒]